About Us

Ali Al Hammadi is the Chief Operating Officer at IMI, bringing over two decades of experience spanning media, sports management, real estate, infrastructure, and tourism.

Before joining IMI, he was Group CEO of Al Jazira Club, one of the UAE’s leading professional sports clubs, where he spearheaded strategic transformation initiatives and optimised operations at scale. Prior to that, he played a key role at Abu Dhabi Media, refining corporate strategy and driving organisational efficiency.

Ali holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Abu Dhabi University and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, USA.

Khaled is a certified accountant with over 16 years of media industry experience. Khaled joined IMI in February 2015 as a Finance Director of Sky News Arabia and IMI. In 2016 his finance responsibilities were expanded to cover the assets of IMI.

In 2010, Khaled worked for Abu Dhabi Media as Head of Finance for Abu Dhabi TV and Radio network. Before moving to Abu Dhabi, Khaled worked as a Finance Manager at Multichoice Middle East – Dubai, a Pay TV service provider owned by ART group established to provide encryption and billing services for ART network and other pay TV platforms in the MENA.

Khaled holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Al Yarmouk University in Jordan, as well as CPA and CMA certifications from the United States.

Nakhle Elhage is Chief Transformation Officer at IMI, where he leads the group’s transformation agenda across its core platforms, including Sky News Arabia, CNN Business Arabic, and Al Ain News.

With more than three decades of experience, Nakhle is a prominent figure in the Arab media landscape. He was a founding member of MBC Group and played a central role in the launch of Al Arabiya, where he served as Director of News and Current Affairs for over 16 years. Throughout his career, he has contributed to shaping modern Arabic news, advancing editorial standards, newsroom structures, and audience engagement across the region. Most recently, he founded blinx, a digital-first storytelling platform that quickly established a strong presence as one of the region’s fast-growing media ventures.

At IMI, his remit spans editorial direction, content strategy, talent development, production, and product innovation, with a focus on strengthening performance and positioning each platform at the forefront of its market.

Hassan Sharif joined IMI in 2020 as Special Projects Director and currently serves as Chief of Staff.

Since joining IMI in 2020, Hassan has been instrumental in driving continuous performance improvement and growth for the IMI group through his involvement in various strategic projects. Over the past two years, he has played a pivotal role in setting strategic objectives and shaping the new direction for IMI and its brands.

In his role as Chief of Staff, Hassan supports various projects with a primary focus on the delivery of IMI’s new strategic plans, organic growth goals, and regional and international investments. As part of the company’s Executive Management Team (EMT), he acts as a crucial liaison between the Board and the EMT, ensuring seamless collaboration towards shared objectives. His expertise in strategic planning, project management, organisational structure, finance, and business acumen continues to serve as a catalyst in propelling IMI forward.

Before joining IMI, Hassan worked with Deloitte for eight years, successfully managing corporate turnaround situations, performance improvement projects, diagnostic assessments, business reviews, and financial restructuring for several distressed businesses. In 2019, he worked with ADQ’s investment team, playing a key role in developing and implementing transformation initiatives for various media assets.

Mina Al-Oraibi is the Editor in Chief of The National newspaper, a daily English language regional newspaper based in Abu Dhabi. Mina has over 20 years of experience covering Middle Eastern, European and American affairs. She has conducted multiple high-profile interviews including with former US President Barack Obama, former Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa AlKadhimi, US Climate Envoy John Kerry, Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Prior to assuming the role of Editor in Chief of The National, Mina was a Senior Fellow at the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) and a Yale World Fellow. At ISE, Mina is working on developing policy recommendations for improved governance in the Middle East and North Africa region, with a focus on Iraq and Syria.

Mina was the Assistant Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the international Arab-language daily newspaper 2011-2015. Before that, she was the Washington Bureau Chief for the newspaper.

In addition to her writing in The National, Mina is a columnist for Foreign Policy and Asharq Al-Awsat. Mina is an Advisor to the Global Dignity Day Movement and a member of the International Media Council. She is also a member of the board of trustees of the American University in Iraq – Sulaimani. Mina was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Arts in Modern History at University College London.

With more than 15 years of experience in digital media, Ahmed currently spearheads all editorial and day-to-day operations at Al-Ain News through their headquarters in Abu Dhabi and regional offices in Cairo.

Prior to joining Al Ain News, Ahmed served in key roles within the UAE government for 20 years. He also worked with Al Majal Media and Studies, where he steered a range of strategic media projects, with a focus on digital transformation, digital journalism development, quality, and performance.

Throughout his career, Ahmed has been a pivotal figure in numerous media and management committees, contributing significantly to editorial and digital projects at entities like Al Roeya newspaper, Msdar Digital media group and Al Forsan Digital Media. He also took part in committees dedicated to supporting communities, notably those focused on drug control and collaboration with the Emirates Red Crescent Crisis and Emergency Team. He also serves as a digital media trainer and has authored multiple articles specializing in political and international affairs.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Journalism and a Higher Diploma in Computer Engineering from the UK. He is also a graduate of the Media Leadership programme from the National Defence College.

Karim Ben Salah is the Chief Investment Officer at IMI.

Karim is a senior investment and strategy executive who brings over 25 years of experience spanning private equity, M&A, and corporate strategy across the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

Prior to joining IMI, he served as Head of Investments at MBC Group, where he steered the group’s debut on the Saudi Stock Exchange, from pre-listing through post-IPO investor relations and governance, and drove group-wide investment strategy, M&A activity, and joint venture development.

He advised senior leadership and the Board on major strategic transactions and forged a portfolio of international content and production partnerships in the region, in Europe and in the US.

At IMI, Karim leads the group’s investment strategy, focusing on further advancing the group’s investment activities and identifying new opportunities across media, entertainment, sport, and related sectors.

With a career spanning over two and a half decades in the media and advertising industry, Sharif stands out as a visionary leader and a strategic innovator. Prior to joining IMI, he served as the Group Director of Commercial at MBC Group, which he joined in February 2005.

In his role at MBC, Sharif played an instrumental role in redefining the notion of media engagement, moving beyond the traditional ad formats to embrace a holistic and multi-platform approach. He led the product innovation team, and pioneered ‘life beyond the 30 seconds’, and created alternative revenue streams and developed solutions that not only enabled brands to further connect and engage with audiences but also had a significant contribution to the company’s financial well-being.

Prior to his tenure with MBC Group, Sharif began his professional journey at J. Walter Thompson in 1997. There, he demonstrated an impressive ascent through the corporate hierarchy. His contributions were pivotal in the conceptualization, stewardship, and strategic oversight of an array of high-profile brands. His expertise spanned various sectors and regions, effectively managing and nurturing the brands of various industry giants such as Nestle, Unilever, Kraft, Rolex, and Orascom, among many more.

Jawad Zia is the Chief People Officer at IMI, where he leads the company’s people strategy, talent acquisition, organisational development, and HR operations to support IMI’s ambition, long-term growth and transformation.

He brings 20 years of human resources leadership experience in the media and entertainment industry at MBC Group. During his tenure, he led people operations across the MENA region, overseeing talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, organisational design, regulatory compliance, executive talent strategy, and HR transformation across the Group’s diverse portfolio of businesses including TV, Radio, VOD and Studios. He also led regional HR teams across the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, supporting workforce in a multicultural and diverse environment.

Throughout his career, Jawad has built and led high-performing HR functions, driving organisational transformation, business progression, leadership development, and talent strategies that enable business growth in dynamic, fast-paced environments.

Suhail Ahmed is the Chief Broadcast Technology Transformation Officer at IMI, where he leads the organisation’s broadcast technology transformation strategy. In this role, he is responsible for modernising IMI’s technology ecosystem, enhancing operational efficiency, and accelerating the adoption of AI-enabled, cloud-first, and data-driven media operations to support the company’s long-term growth and innovation agenda.

With more than 25 years of experience in broadcast technology, digital transformation, and media operations, Suhail has built a distinguished career delivering complex technology programmes across the media industry. He was a member of the founding technology team at Sky News Arabia, where he played a pivotal role in designing and building the technical infrastructure that established the network as one of the region’s leading news organisations.

Throughout his career, Suhail has led large-scale technology transformation initiatives, combining deep technical expertise with strategic leadership to drive innovation, resilience, and operational excellence. His extensive experience in broadcast systems, cloud technologies, automation, and emerging AI solutions positions him at the forefront of the evolving media landscape.

At IMI, Suhail is focused on shaping the future of broadcast technology by delivering scalable, future-ready platforms that empower editorial teams, enhance audience experiences, and support the organisation’s continued digital transformation.

In his current role, Gadallah plays a key role in shaping the editorial standards across IMI’s portfolio of brands. He works in close partnership with Executive Management and Editors-in-Chief to ensure content is consistent, high-impact, and aligned with the group’s strategic priorities, with a focus on editorial excellence, supporting audience growth, and strengthening engagement across all platforms.

Prior to this, he held the role Group Editorial Director at IMI, where he worked with the Editors-in-Chief across the network to support editorial strategies across IMI assets. Prior to this, he was the Head of News at Sky News Arabia. Gadallah first joined Sky News Arabia’s editorial team in 2012, and over the years held a variety of leadership roles within the editorial team, with a main focus on building and driving the network’s social media and digital teams. As Head of News at SNA, he played an instrumental role in supporting the channel’s day-to-day operations and implementing strategies that amplified Sky News Arabia’s reach across the Arab world.

Prior to joining Sky News Arabia, he worked as a Media Advisor at the US Embassy in Doha. Gadallah is renowned for his exceptional journalistic skills, media analysis, and outstanding knowledge of the Middle East’s international politics and current affairs. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Cairo University.

Rihab is a media investment specialist with over 10 years of banking experience. She joined IMI in August 2014 as an asset manager and shareholders’ financial representative. In 2016, her responsibilities expanded to the role of Investment Manager at IMI.

Prior to moving to the UAE, Rihab was chief of staff of BMCE Capital CEO, a leading asset management fund in MENA. Prior to this, Rihab worked at BNP Paribas in the M&A division and in financial services in the US. Rihab holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master’s degree in Finance from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Gordon Finlayson is Chief Legal Officer at IMI, where he leads the Group’s legal function and supports its expanding portfolio, investment activities, and global growth strategy. Since joining IMI as General Counsel in 2023, he has played a key role in the Group’s growth and investment initiatives, providing legal leadership on several high-profile transactions, including the acquisition of All3Media, the sale process for The Telegraph and The Spectator, and the combination of All3Media with Banijay Entertainment.

With more than 20 years of international experience spanning media, entertainment, investment, and corporate law, Gordon has held senior legal leadership positions at leading organisations including HBO, Showtime, OSN, VEVO, Warner/Chappell, and Abu Dhabi Media. His expertise encompasses complex transactions, regulatory matters, corporate governance, and strategic legal advisory across international markets.

In his current role, Gordon provides strategic legal counsel and governance oversight, supporting IMI’s long-term growth and global ambitions.